10 Tips for the Discerning iPhoneographer

We all do it on a daily basis. We aim our iPhones at our loved ones and click. How difficult can it be to make photos of our family, especially with a tool like the smartphone? Well, as Jack Hollingsworth puts it, family photography is either the toughest of assignments in the world or the easiest. In this video, he demonstrates how to take better photos of your family and friends with your smartphone camera:

1. You Know Your Family

Ideally it should be the easiest thing to do—photographing your family with an iPhone, that is. After all, you know your family the best!

You know your family best.

2. Get Both Candid and Staged Shots

Try to keep a mixture of staged and candid shots in your photos.

Shoot both candid and staged shots.

3. Capture Authenticity

Get the subject in your photographs to express genuine emotion.

Capture genuine emotion.

4. Make the Shoot About Them (Not You)

Despite all your photography acumen, it’s not about you but about them.

Remember, it’s not about you!

5. Balance Crop and Context

Your expertise does, however, come into play when you make your composition. It’s going to be a delicate balancing act between how much you should crop against how much space, if any, you need to keep in order to show context in your photos.

Choose how much to crop or whether to show your subject in context.

6. Go Natural

Keep your post-processing to a minimum to produce more natural looking photos.

7. Turn Your Screen Up to Full Brightness

Turn up your smartphone screen to full brightness.

Turn up brightness of your iPhone to 100 percent.

8. Clean Your Lens

The tiny lens on your phone is susceptible to dust and dirt. Use a microfiber lens cloth to clean it before taking photos.

9. Swipe Up for Quick Access

Swipe up from the lock screen to get quick access to your camera in order to get those in-between moments.

10. Back Up Your Images

Always make it a point to store your images on iCloud or download them to an external hard drive so you don’t lose them if you lose your phone.

Like the tips? Use them in your photography to make better photos of your family.

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